Industrial wireless sensors and actuators are increasingly being standardized. Two leading standards in the industrial market, namely ISA100.11a-2011 (IEC/PAS 62734, called “ISA100.11a” herein) and WirelessHART™ (IEC 62591, called “WirelessHART” herein) have similar architectures and time-synchronized slotted communication models, with ISA100.11a being more flexible. Both standards are designed for scenarios wherein sensors and actuators utilize low-bandwidth wireless links from fixed locations via a fixed communication infrastructure, in various configurations as the network designer intends and the situation allows.
Both standards—specifically ISA100.11a and WirelessHART—are included herein by reference.
Neither standard specifically addresses mobility. Mobility, as described herein, may be supported in a scenario wherein individual wireless devices move within a network that is mostly stationary, such as an overhead crane in a factory or a data logger arriving at a loading dock. Conversely, mobility may be supported in configurations wherein wireless sensors are mostly stationary, but there is no fixed system to read them. In those and other permutations, devices or collections of devices may store their own data and/or data of their neighbors and occasionally connect to mobile readers that are periodically in range, such as in walk-by, drive-by, or fly-by scenarios. When mobile devices establish temporary connections, the stored data may be transmitted in a burst.